明末科舉與在野文人的互動──以金聖歎及其交遊為案例 (Discussion on Imperial Examination and “Literates without honours” in the Late Ming Dynasty: JIN Shengtan as a Case Study and Illustration)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국중국학회
· 수록지 정보 : 중국학보 / 87호 / 155 ~ 186페이지
· 저자명 : Hugo Wai-ho Wong

초록

明代專以科舉取士，試以制義，旨在評騭士人書卷、辭理，以及闡發聖賢經傳本義的實力。迨至明末，制義趨於程文化及險僻怪戾，已與原意背道而馳。然而，不少士人依舊接受科舉制義的桎梏。究其原因，一方面，明代社會普遍推崇科舉，當時社會群體因而給予士人無形的壓力；另一方面，科舉制度本身將士人二分，考取舉人以上則擠身於官僚階級，是為在位，否則為在野。科舉制義幾乎成了士人擠身官僚階級的唯一通道，明末士人便希望考取科舉，以便得到社會身份的認同與自我價值的肯定。如是者，當時不少士人蠭然應舉，卻又屢試不第，厭倦科場，最終淪為在野文人。金聖歎（1608-1661）無疑是其中一個典型。金氏早歲多次應舉，甚至對於“生員”資格，竟然有補而旋棄，棄而旋補的反常行為，最終仍為一介生員。期間更與一些名不見經傳的在野文人交往。本文剖析金氏的應舉行為及其背後的複雜心理，並從金氏的交遊圈，開列當時其他在野文人的具體名單，以期達到以下三個目的：一，論證明末科舉對在野文人的影響；二，窺探明末科舉下在野文人的實際面貌；三，補苴金聖歎早期身世及交遊方面的研究空白。

영어초록

Throughout the Ming dynasty, the imperial court selected the literates by testing their abilities of the knowledge, annotation and interpretation on the classical works, through the Examination Essays Sections in the imperial examination. However, the essay writing section per se, during late Ming dynasty in particular, is unable to align with the original objective of the examination, i.e. to select the suitable calibres from the examination candidates. It is very common that the examinees strived to write the mechanical works as well as strange and brutal essays, which are generally difficult to be understood, during the examination. In addition, a hundred and thousands of literates took the imperial examination because the society places an extremely high value on the imperial examination. Another reason for them to indulge in the imperial examination is their thirst to be renowned as “elite” in the hierarchical ladder within the traditional Chinese society.

Generally speaking, the literati can be catagorized into two different statuses in accord to their qualification in the examination system, and the cutting edge is whether they can obtain the “Juren” degree. For those who passed the examinations can be identified as “elite” in the social hierarchical ladder, because they have qualified a “license” to be civil servant. Whereas those who failed will be labeled as “general public”. In other words, taking the imperial examination and passing the Examination Essay Section are the only way-out in their career path for the literates to be upgraded as the “elite” in the social hierarchical ladder during the late Ming dynasty. As a result, the literates attempt to be the “elite” so as to be distinguished from the “general public” because it helps them to gain recognitions and reputations in terms of social status and self-esteem. In fact, majority of the examinees still get failed in the exams constantly for many years, who also feel exhausted and desperate under the continuous examinations. Thus, these literati can be labelled as “general public” or so-called “literates without honours”.

JIN Shengtan as a typical example of “literates without honours”, he did attend the examinations many times in his early age. This paper attempts to take JIN as a case study and illustration in order to shed light on the relationship between imperial examination and “literates without honours” in the late Ming Dynasty. Besides, an analysis on JIN’s behavior and psychological struggles associated with the imperial examination will be discussed. To summarize, the paper tries to illustrate how the imperial examination influences the “literates without honours” in many different aspects, and to depict the full picture of literates’ activities under the examinations, as well as the social network in the early age of JIN Shengtan.

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